The Art of Genius
by demonprincess7
Summary: The Doctor and Rose run into an unexpected pair while visiting an art gallery.


The Doctor and Rose stepped out of the TARDIS and into the art gallery. They were in the main exhibit and the room was nearly empty save for a small group that stood to the side sharing a conversation. "Doctor? Isn't this the National Gallery in London? I've been here nearly a hundred times. I thought you said we were going some place so knew it hasn't even been thought up yet."

"I did and we were." He gave the TARDIS an annoyed look. "I swear she just goes where she wants. Ya know, she's worse about wanderin' off than you are. Between the two of you I think were going to stay permanently lost."

Rose smiled, tongue caught between her teeth. "Wanderin' off is half the fun." She looked around and noticed "I don't think I've ever seen it this empty."

"Does seem a bit strange doesn't it?"

"Well then, I guess I'll _wander _over there and see what they know," she said with a sly look before heading toward the group of strangers. The Doctor followed and they stopped within hearing distance. They pretended to examine the nearby painting casually.

Before them stood three men and two women who by Rose's standards were all quite nicely dressed. There was a tall man with a long coat and dark curly hair. He stood next to a significantly shorter man who stood quite like a soldier. In front of them and to tall, dark, and curly's right was an older man with a pleasant smile and graying hair. To his left stood an attractive woman in fashionable boots who was looking at the dark haired man in disapproval and annoyance. Finally to the fashionably dressed woman's right was a stern faced woman of considerable height who looked like she ought to be in charge of something.

The older man said, "Well, what did I tell you? There's no mystery that's trumped the man yet."

"Yes, I apologies for having doubted you Mr. Holmes," said the stern woman. The smug pride practically radiated from the dark haired man.

"Oh, don't flatter him he'll never shut up about it," they soldier said playfully earning what Rose was pretty sure would be a disapproving look from the tall man who's face remained just out of sight. The fashionably dressed woman snickered also received a look at which she glared.

"It was simple really," said the tall man who's voice was chillingly pleasant. "Anyone should be able to see the tell-tale signs of a common thief. Just as anyone should be able to hear the sound of the common eavesdropper." Three of the five gave the man confused looks while the soldier stiffened and turned on his heel immediatly understanding the other's meaning.

He laid eyes on Rose and the Doctor who tried their best to continue looking casual. "You there!" he called to them. The rest of the group suddenly spotted them.

"Excuse me," said the stern woman. "but this facility is closed for the evening."

The Doctor approached them with Rose in tow. "I'm sorry, weren't you informed." He pulled his psychic paper from his pocket.

"Museum Inspector Smith?" read the older man.

"That's right. I'm with the High Committy of Museum Inspection. This here is my assistant Ms. Tyler."

"Hello," Rose said politely.

"How do you do?" the soldier who Rose could now see was around the same age as the graying man and a bit handsome. He offered his hand. "Dr. John Watson." Rose and then the Doctor each shook his hand.

"I'm Sally Donovan and this is Detective Inspector Lestrade," said the fashionable woman before the tall man could speak though the Doctor noticed he clearly meant to. They shook the detectives hands.

Rose looked expectantly at the tall man and noticed that he was younger than the rest and far more attractive. The Doctor noticed this, too. _Fantastic. Another pretty boy. We are _not_ bringing this one along._

"Sherlock Holmes." He offered his hand to Rose but pointedly ignored the Doctor as though he might be contagious. Dr. Watson gave him a clearly disapproving look but Sherlock ignored that too.

The stern woman who Rose decided must be in charge of the place introduced herself as Head Curator Bishop. "Exactly what sort of time is this to be running an inspection? If you'd arrived only an hour earlier you would have caught us in the middle of a very important investigation," she announced.

"I-" the Doctor began but was cut off when the Head Curator's mobile rang out rather loudly.

"Excuse me," she said leaving them along to take her call.

"We'd better head out as well. In case we're needed," said D.I. Lestrade and he left with Sally.

That left Rose and the Doctor alone with John and Sherlock. The Doctor and Sherlock immediately swapped distrustful looks. "_Sherlock Holmes," _the Doctor began. "What sort of an alias is that?"

"You tell me _John Smith,_" Sherlock shot back. They both glared and John tensed sensing a fight that due to the unknown nature of this stranger with a fake name could potentially turn physical. "Nice ship, _Doctor_."

"Nice what?" John asked. Rose was just as confused.

"Bit of a vintage look for a time machine, don't you think?" Sherlock pointed at the TARDIS. "Look there John and you'll see it." John did and his reaction was similar to a person turning on a lamp in a dark room.

"What the bleeding hell is that?" John shouted amazed.

"That's my space ship," the Doctor said with narrow eyes. "Exactly how did you see it?"

"That's the problem with people, Doctor. They see but they do not observe. A great observer would notice it, but an ordinary person would walk on by without a second glance."

"But what is it?" John asked.

"It's a police box John do keep up." John glared in response.

"Would you like to look inside?" Rose asked. It wasn't often she got to talk to ordinary people about their adventures. The Doctor glared but John said "Absolutely, yes." and so without any verbal protest from the Doctor, Rose unlocked the door and led them all inside.

"She's called the TARDIS," the Doctor declared proudly once they stood in the console room. "and that's-"

"Time and relative dimensions in space," Sherlock finished for him.

"How do you-"

"What else could it stand for? I don't know much about time travel, Doctor, but I do know a thing or two about aliens. Mycroft has a time trying to cover up all of the strange phenomena. You would be what is called a Time Lord. No doubt the very last of the entire species."

The Doctor looked suspiciously at the strange man he had finally decided must be the _actual_ Sherlock Holmes. "What do you know about Time Lords?"

"Never mind that. What do _you _know about the recent disappearances?" Sherlock looked directly at the Doctor, reading his face.

"Nothing at all," the Doctor said. Sherlock rolled his eyes annoyed by the lack of information. "But since we're asking stupid questions," Sherlock glared. "I want to know exactly how a _stupid ape_ like you knows anything about Time Lords. Even to most aliens they're nothing but an old forgotten story."

"U.N.I.T." Sherlock said simply. "I expect even _you_ must know about them."

"I was U.N.I.T.'s chief scientific adviser, there's nothing I don't know about them," the Doctor replied smugly.

"Oh? Do you know about all of the people you've had contact with being held prisoner by U.N.I.T.?" looked momentarily astonished. Sherlock smirked. "I thought not."

"Is he always like this?" Rose asked John.

"Know-it-all is his permanent state of mind," John remarked. Rose laughed and Sherlock shot them both a glare.

"You still haven't answered me. How do you know-"

"Right. How do I know that you're a Time Lord?" Sherlock began to rant.

"Here he goes," John sighed.

"As if the police box wasn't a dead give away after having looked at your file, but I knew it from the moment I saw you."

"So, cuppa tea?" Rose asked John.

"Yes, thank you."

"Kitchen's this way." The pair went off down the hall in search of tea.

"Where shall I start? How about the substance under your finger nails. It's dark, almost black, but it isn't. When the light hits it you can see it's clearly green. An oily green substance that is unknown to must obviously be alien."

"You think you know so much don't you?" the Doctor interrupted. Sherlock continued, ignoring him.

"Then of course there's the psychic paper. It's such a simple trick. So obviously fake if you know where to look. And of course your TARDIS. From what I understand such machines are grown rather than built on the planet Galifrey, the home of the Time Lords."

The Doctor was liking Sherlock Holmes less and less. Not that he wasn't impressed by his knowledge and his observation of the oil under his nails that he'd thought had been successfully removed, he simply knew too much. Clearly he'd gotten his information from this "Mycroft" who if the Doctor remembered correctly was the elder Holmes brother. _I may need to have a word with him. _The Doctor thought.

Rose and John stood at the counter sipping their tea. Rose had offered him a seat at the table, but after noticing that she'd rather stand, he politely declined. They listened to the whole argument rolling their eyes as their friends insulted each other. "So how long have you and Sherlock been together?"

"Oh, we're not... we're not together. We're just flatmates."

"Same with me and the Doctor. We just sort of live together."

"And you live here? In this uh spaceship?

"Yep, the TARDIS. She's home."

"What's that like? Flying through space and with the Doctor."

"Oh it's fantastic. I couldn't go back. Not to what I had. I was just a shop girl. Just some stupid girl who had no idea what the world waa really like let alone the whole _universe_."

"I doubt you were ever stupid," John said with a small smile.

"Thanks," she smiled back. "but the Doctor. He's taken me all these places and we've seen all these things and... I realized how important a single person or a single moment can be."

"Sounds sort of like me and Sherlock."

"Yeah?"

John nodded. "I'd just come home from the war. Civilian life was just so... dull. And then Sherlock comes along and everything is an adventure with him. We solves crimes together. He's a bit of a pratt, but he's a genius. I don't know where I'd be without him." They sat in silence for a moment pondering their lives. "So this ship?" John said suddenly.

"Right, yeah. The TARDIS."

"It's bigger on the inside," John said amazed.

Rose laughed. 'Yeah, I know." She jumped up to sit on the counter. "It's not just a space ship though. It travels through time. There is literally an endless number of places we can go."

"Incredible."

"But Sherlock Holmes? Is he really _the _Sherlock Holmes?"

"Well I don't know what stories you've heard, but yeah he's the great consulting detective," John said dramatically.

"That must be fascinating."

"It is," John nodded. " As long as you don't tell him it is. Other wise he shows off."

They both laughed. "Sounds like the Doctor. You tell him how interesting his knowledge of alien planets is and he goes on forever about everything he knows."

The Doctor finally entered the room, followed by Sherlock. After insisting he could find a simple kitchen on his own and didn't need the Doctor's help, Sherlock had promptly gotten lost having only then noticed the TARDIS's moving corridors. The Doctor of course had mocked him and gave his TARDIS a mental high five.

"Are you two finished verbally abusing each other?" Rose asked as they entered.

"I was just telling the Doctor about the simplicity of fixing one's chameleon circuit. They had one back at the U.N.I.T. lab. I took it apart and put it back together in no time at all," Sherlock said clearly prepared to continue.

"And _I _was saving Sherlock from getting horribly lost," the Doctor countered.

"Well it isn't my fault your slightly psychic ship doesn't like me."

"Yes it is."

"Gentlemen," Rose said moving to stand between them. She looked at the Doctor batting her eye lashes. "What do you say we go see some stars, yeah."

The Doctor glared wanting to be rid of that blue-eyed pest but he noticed John's excited look and he couldn't deny the man the trip of a lifetime.

"John and I really ought to be heading home. We have a case," Sherlock said importantly.

"Shut up, you. I want to see stars. The case can wait."

Rose smiled and grabbed John's hand. She pulled him behind her, pasted the grumpy geniuses, and back to the console room. The Doctor and Sherlock made their way back to the console. The Doctor fired up the engines and they took off. They parked somewhere and the Doctor gestured to the doors. "Go on and have a look but I wouldn't step outside." Rose and John shared excited smiles and ran to the doors. They each grabbed a door and pulled them open together.

"Ladies and gentlemen, planet Earth," the Doctor said.

"Oh _wow. _Fantastic." John gasped in awe. They were hovering above the planet looking down on their home. Sherlock looked curiously over John's shoulder. It was truly beautiful. Sherlock watched the small white cloud masses moving down below. He appreciated the shades of blue and green and the lights over the major cities. He could name each one.

"It's beautiful," Sherlock said softly. Rose offered him a smile, glad to see the superiority leave his face to be replaced with wonder.

After standing back and simply watching the world turn for a while, they'd finally had enough. The Doctor flew the TARDIS back to London and right into Baker street. Before they went, Rose gave them each a hug and John a polite kiss on the cheek. Sherlock finally shook the Doctor's hand. John offered the Doctor a salute. The detective and his blogger went home.

Back in the console room, Rose said, "We should see them again some time."

"Well if there's ever trouble in their time London, I'll know who to call." Rose noticed that he seemed awfully bitter.

"Oh come on. You know you enjoyed that," she said. "And anyway. We have a mission now don't we?"

"A mission?"

"Yeah we've gotta help those people that U.N.I.T. snatched up don't we?"

The Doctor smiled. "Rose Tyler. I like the way you think."


End file.
